1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a technique for recording dots on the surface of a printing medium using a dot recording head, and in particular to a technique for printing up to the edges of printing paper, without soiling the platen.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, printers that eject ink from nozzles provided in a print head, such as that illustrated in FIG. 24, have come to enjoy widespread use as computer output devices. As shown in FIG. 24, in a printer of this kind, when it is attempted to record an image up to the upper and lower edges of printer paper without margins, in some instances, ink drops become deposited outside of the printing paper, soiling the platen (see ink drop Ip ejected from nozzle #5 in FIG. 24). One technique for recording images up to the upper and lower edges of printer paper without margins in a printer of this kind is the technique disclosed in JP2002-103584A. In the printer of JP2002-103584A, the edges of the printing paper are arranged over recesses provided in the platen which supports the printing paper, and printing of the image at the edges of the printing paper is carried out by ejecting ink drops from nozzles facing the recessed portions. Printing of the midsectional portion of the printing paper is carried out using nozzles which includes nozzles other than nozzles facing the recessed portions.
In a printer of the sort described above, after printing of the edge portions of the printing paper has been completed, there sometimes is produced in proximity to boundaries between edge portions and the midsectional portion of the printing paper a complicated jigsaw arrangement of main scan lines on which dots have been recorded and main scan lines on which dots have not yet been recorded. Thus, a complicated process was needed in order to switch between edge portion and midsectional portion print modes having different sub-scan feed distances.
In order to address the problems of the prior art discussed above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for easily switching between edge portion and midsectional portion print modes when printing up to the edges of printing paper, without depositing ink drops on the platen.